Discovery of cocaine and fentanyl in bedroom air duct leads to 6-year sentence for Harvard man

A Harvard man was sentenced to six years in prison after police found baggies of fentanyl and cocaine hidden in an air duct in his bedroom last year.

Gregorio Pena, 40, entered a guilty plea Thursday before Judge Mark Gerhardt in McHenry County court to one count of possession of 15 to 100 grams of cocaine, a Class 1 felony.

In exchange for the drug plea, two Class X felony charges of possession with intent to deliver fentanyl and cocaine, possession of a weapon as a felon, possession of fentanyl and obstructing justice were dropped.

Pena has been held in McHenry County jail since his arrest in May, according to court records. That’s when McHenry County sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at Pena’s house, where he “knowingly concealed physical evidence” by placing “six individually packaged bags of cocaine/fentanyl inside the air duct of his bedroom,” according to the criminal complaint against him.

According to the complaint, Pena was in possession of a pair of black brass knuckles, which was prohibited because of his status as a convicted felon.

In 2017, he was convicted of unlawful possession with intent to deliver between 1 and 15 grams of cocaine, authorities said. He was sentenced to six years in prison.